Facebook's newest startup addition could finally usher in the extinction of traditional SMS and expands the social media giant's influence abroad.

Yesterday, Facebook announced that it would acquire WhatsApp, the fastest growing messenger service in the world, for an eye-popping $19 billion. This is one of the biggest tech acquisitions ever and is easily Facebook's most costly corporate maneuver to date.

Seen from a short-term monetary point of view, Mark Zuckerberg's eagerness to bring WhatsApp under Facebook's influence would be puzzling. The Mountain View startup, guided by two former Yahoo engineers, does what it does very well. WhatsApp presents a simple, uncluttered interface with a no-nonsense approach to messaging, letting you text across platforms like iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows, without paying for SMS through a carrier. However, from a revenue standpoint, WhatsApp charges its 450 million users only $0.99 per year, and that's after a free year of use. And because of its design sensibilities, the app generates no ad revenue.

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WhatsApp's real market value lies with the people who use it. The messaging service's growth over its four-year history bests even the standard set during Facebook's own fledgling years. The app also found favor with teenagers, a demographic that Facebook has been trying to reclaim. Not to mention that WhatsApp's core user base lies outside U.S. borders. For Facebook, the exact opposite is true.

No doubt Facebook wants to tap into WhatsApp's growth potential, and Zuckerberg's official comments echo that interest. "WhatsApp is on a path to connect 1 billion people," he said in a press release. "The services that reach that milestone are all incredibly valuable."

WhatsApp CEO Jan Kuom stated on his website's blog that the user experience through its messenger will remain undisturbed. "WhatsApp will remain autonomous and operate independently," Kuom said. "There would have been no partnership between our two companies if we had to compromise the core principles that will always define our company, our vision, and our product." Kuom's comments recall Facebook's acquisition of Instagram in 2012. Instagram still hasn't been completely devoured by Facebook's core product (though it has been experimenting with ads), and it most likely never will.

Facebook made this move as part of its attempt to rule the future of messaging. And on a certain level, it's appealing to imagine such a future in which all of your messaging is united in one place (even if that one service is owned by Facebook), as opposed to having your communications with a friend spread out over Gchat, iMessage, Facebook Messenger, and other disparate services. But if you're hoping for such a service to arise from this deal, keep dreaming. For one thing, Facebook has a successful app in Messenger, albeit one with a much smaller user base than WhatsApp. Integrating Facebook contacts and other Facebook qualities (such as ads and games) would morph WhatsApp into something completely different—and something that its many users might not like. Plus, despite WhatsApp's impressive numbers, there is always competition, especially from Japan's LINE messenger and China's immensely popular WeChat.

The threat of Facebook integration still looms over WhatsApp, but the company's interest seems more forward-thinking. WhatsApp's international user base, unmatched growth, and SMS-slayer status strengthens Facebook in all the right places. Zuckerberg thinks WhatsApp is the future, and he wants a piece.